What To Watch Now….On NOWTV!

Last Christmas I was back home at my parents and had one very big problem: they don’t have Sky or Virgin.

Of course they had broadband (they’re not savages) but there was no streaming device for the TV and I forgot to bring my Chromecast with me. I didn’t want to be resigned to a week of watching everything on my phone, so I took a little jaunt down to Tesco to see what new releases they had out. Sitting right by the DVDs was my saving grace: a NOWTV box for £15, and it came with a Sky Movies pass.

Before anyone else could catch a glimpse of it, I had it in my basket and plugged in to the TV in no time at all. Now my parents aren’t the biggest in to box-sets or streaming but because the little box only had a few apps like iPlayer and TuneIn (which helped them find some amazing online radio stations) and the remote control had a failsafe home button. It soon went from me watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the umpteenth time to coming in from a run and suddenly seeing my mum and dad fully invested in Nashville; which was crazy considering they don’t even like country music.

Ever since they’ve been messaging me about what they’ve been catching up on and actually making me jealous that I’m a bit behind on Veep and haven’t even had time to catch on the latest season of Billions. They still like my recommendations of what to watch thought and I thought you might too, so here are some of my unbiased picks of what to watch on NowTV this summer.

Pick No.1: Veep

Politics is boring, but behind the scenes of politics is full of lots of naughty words. For anyone out of the loop. Veep is the American quasi remake of The Thick Of It. Because it’s made by HBO, and they don’t have to have the same TV rules as other American channels, they can eff & jeff all day long. It is one of the sharpest comedies on TV and I’d say if you liked The West Wing or Yes, Prime Minister that Veep is definitely worth a look.

Pick No.2: The Sopranos

I’ll fight anyone who doesn’t think that the Sopranos is the GREATEST TV show of all time. It was the first real must-tv in my opinion and is the big reason why so many now love to binge-watch. It’s a bit of a tough sell as I found out with the my parents. They didn’t think a show about a mobster would be interesting at all, but it’s one of those shows where you make sure someone watched the first two episodes and you know they’ll be hooked straight away.

Pick No.3: Nashville

I know i mentioned it at the start, and it might like the strangest thing ever (especially if you would rather listen to paint dry rather than watch country music) but Nashville is one of the most bonkers soap operas I’ve ever seen. You wouldn’t expect two singers fighting over who gets to headline concerts to be remotely interesting, but this show throws the kitchen sink and everything else at you to make one hell of an entertaining show. It’s ideal for those nights where it’s raining and clammy outside and you want something that doesn’t require much intelligence to watch.

Pick No.4: The Trip..To Spain

I’d be remiss if I didn’t top off this summer mix with some home-grown talent. Originally on BBC4 and then BBC2 before moving over to Sky, The Trip to Spain is a hilarious show with a very simple premise. Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan drive around Spain and eat at nice restaurants. It isn’t a documentary but a comedy where they’re pretending to review food while trying to make each other at dinner.

It’s a little bit of a comedy nerd’s show with the number of reference to old English comedies they make, but I can’t recommend it enough.

BONUS PICK (BECAUSE IT’S A MOVIE) : Florence Foster Jenkins

On the off chance you find yourself struggling to find something the entire family, including your nan, can watch on a Sunday afternoon when the British summer decides to be oh so typically wet, you should throw on Florence Foster Jenkins. Meryl Streep got an Oscar nomination for this movie in which she plays an eccentric lady who doesn’t realise that she can’t sing at all, but tries her best to become a sensation in New York. The trailer makes it look like a silly comedy but there are some very sweet moments in it that would make any tough guy get a little teary eyed.